49. David Ortiz

Big Papi joined the Red Sox in 2003 and really started to mash the ball. He began his career with the Twins, but never caught much fire until he called Boston his home.

Does Ortiz really deserve as much credit as he gets, though? He hasn't played in the field on a regular basis at all throughout his career.

He has hit for power and knocked in his share of base runners, but with the accusation of him using steroids being released, how much was really his natural ability?

Any player who uses a substance to gain a competitive edge has to have their stats looked at with a grain of salt. If he comes clean, forgiveness could be granted, but until then, Big Papi is just another overrated player.

48. Alfonso Soriano

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Alfonso Soriano made a name for himself with the Yankees. He was the key piece that brought Alex Rodriguez to New York.

Soriano has always had a powerful bat, 46 HR in 2006 is more than enough to convince anyone of that, but he strikes out at a blistering rate. His 11 strikeouts in 30 at-bats during the ALCS in 2003 speaks volumes.

He signed a mega-deal in 2004, and lived up to his paycheck at first, but has since been a massive financial black hole.

His BA, RBI and stolen base total has continued to slide throughout the years, which only hurts his Cub squad that needs him to play like the stud he once was.

Soriano struck when the iron was hot, but has only gotten worse with age.

47. Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee is overrated. His work in the postseason is what brings all of the hype and frankly, outside of last year's World Series, he was rather untouchable.

Before 2008, Lee was far from the pitcher he is today. In 2007, he went 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA. He did bounce back the next year to go 22-3 and take home the Cy Young Award.

Overall, his body of work is sometimes overhyped due to his knack for coming up big in the postseason. With the Rangers last season, he went 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA.

With the Mariners, he fared much better going 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA, but Safeco is the epitome of a pitcher's park. Yes, Arlington does boast one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the bigs, but this guy is supposed to be unhittable.

Lee is a great pitcher who knows how to get outs, but how much of the hype is attributed to his postseason feats?

42. Chuck Finley

Chuck Finley was known as a Yankee killer. A look at his stats will prove just that.

In 1996, he went 4-0 with a 0.57 ERA in 31.1 innings. In 1998, in 20 innings, he posted an ERA of 1.80. From 1999-2000, in 27.2 innings, Finley had an ERA of 1.31 against the Bronx Bombers.

For that reason, and that reason alone, Finley was known as a stellar pitcher. Having the Yankees' number thrust him into the spotlight, even if he didn't completely deserve it.

Finley had three seasons that were worth noting. From 1989-1991, he went 48-27 with a 2.92 ERA. During his Yankee-killing years, he only went 54-47, even though that is the time that we remember him for.

Finley was overrated due to the fact that he dominated the team that was covered the most in the media. In reality, he was nothing more than ordinary, unless he was pitching in the Bronx.

41. Phil Rizzuto

Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto was a fantastic fielding shortstop, but that is all. He was rather one-dimensional. A great glove, but a less than stellar bat.

Rizzuto only eclipsed .300 twice in his career and had a rather pedestrian OPS of .706.

Rizzuto benefited from playing on elite squads. Playing with the likes of DiMaggio, Mantle and Ford definitely helped his cause.

Rizzuto was a product of his environment, which played a nice role amongst the players that he was lucky enough to grace the diamond with. Outside of that, he was just the shortstop on a phenomenal team.

35. Johnny Sain

e.g. 'Chicago Blackhawks', 'Chicago Cubs'

From 1946-1950, out of 181 of Johnny Sain's starts, 115 of them were complete games. By today's standards, that is unbelievable. During that era, pitchers never came out of games, so this is not unheard of.

Take away those four years, and Sain was far from extraordinary. He only posted a winning record two more times during his 11 seasons.

He pitched well in the postseason for the Yankees, posting a 2.64 ERA in six games. That also helps to boost his overrated status.

He was not a strikeout pitcher either, but made his living eating up innings for the Boston Braves and then later for the Yankees. Sain was overrated due to the inflation of pitching feats and the teams he pitched for.

33. Brooks Robinson

With 16 Gold Gloves, the "Vacuum Cleaner" was an amazing defensive third baseman. Brooks Robinson could field with fluidity and make plays one could only dream of making. But, just like Ozzie Smith, that was all Robinson could do.

A one-dimensional player is an overrated player. A player who can only hit falls into this category as well as one who can only field.

Robinson was a career .267 hitter. He hit .317 in 1964 which helped him earn the MVP Award that season.

If he was able to consistently hit at such a high level, he wouldn't warrant the overrated tag, but since this was an outlier, it is rightfully stamped on him.

Robinson was one of the best-fielding third basemen ever to man the hot corner, but that was all he could do.

32. Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs was a phenomenal hitter. During his time with Boston in the beginning of his career, he posted some remarkable numbers, including a four-year stretch of an average over .350. In 1987, he hit .363 with 24 HR, by far the most in his career.

As he entered into his 30s and joined the Yankee squad in 1993, Boggs was not the same hitter he was previously.

In fact, he became more known for his glove. If he could have continued his hitting dominance, and added some much-needed pop in his bat, he could have missed this list.

28. Mike Mussina

Mike "Moose" Mussina finished his career off on a high note, winning 20 games before hanging up his spikes.

The 20-win mark is usually the barometer for an elite pitcher and since Mussina only reached it once, it is a bit hard to cement his place along the greats to man the rubber.

His 3.68 career ERA is respectable, but he finished with a four-plus ERA six times in his 18-year career. He also played on the Orioles during their peak and the Yankees, who are always an offensive leader. Could he have had similar numbers on weaker hitting clubs.

Going out with a bang is what Mussina did, but since the last taste "Moose" left with us was so good, we seem to hold him a bit higher.

27. Larry Walker

Larry Walker was a sweet-swinging left-hander who benefited from playing 82 of his games in the confines of Coors Field. During the peak of his career—from 1997-2002, Walker hit 111 HR at home and 84 on the road.

Coors Field is infamous for making a player's statistics look much more impressive due to the simple fact that it is such a hitters' ballpark.

Walker was a great baseball player, but he is overrated since his numbers look so good on paper because he called Colorado his home.

20. Dave Stewart

Dave Stewart was dominant for a stretch of his career, but only for a short stint. Stewart won 20-plus games in four straight years from 1987-1990. Other than that, he didn't have much to show for himself.

Stewart had spurts of greatness, but was average throughout the rest of his career. After 1990, he didn't win more than 12 games, and his ERA was under four only once over the next five seasons.

Consistency makes you a great player. Glimpses of greatness makes you overrated.

15. Joe Carter

Joe Carter is remembered solely for his play in the World Series. Take that away and he was nothing more than a power hitter who benefited from playing half of his games in the SkyDome.

Carter was nothing more than a .259 career hitter. Yes, he had plenty of pop and was instrumental in helping the Jays capture their World Series crowns, but that is what overshadows his rather average play in the regular season.

Players who make a name for themselves in the postseason have the luxury of having their regular season stats overlooked. Carter falls into that category.

13. Nomar Garciaparra

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From 1997-2000, Nomar Garciaparra held the title as the best shortstop in the majors. Hitting .357 and .372 in 1999 and 2000, respectively, will earn you that title. After the 2000 season, Garciaparra was never the same. The rest of his career was ravaged by injuries.

If he could have stayed healthy, who knows what he could have become, but even though he only had those four successful years, he is still looked at as one of the premier shortstops we have seen. For that reason, Nomar is overrated.

While some players reach unexpected heights due to their long careers and are overhyped, others fall short due to the lack of longevity, but are still are held to a high standard because of what they could have been.

This also plays into what labels a player as overrated. That is where Garciaparra falls. We can't fill in holes in a player's career just because of his potential.

9. Hideo Nomo

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Due to the fact that Nomo is the most noteworthy Japanese player ever to play in the major leagues, Nomo seems to flirt with immortality. Or could be that he is unique delivery was just that unforgettable?

In reality, Nomo had two stellar seasons with the Dodgers, but that is all. He came out of nowhere with his motion and hitters did not know what to expect.

For that reason, he went 13-6 in his rookie year and took home Rookie of the Year honors. After that, he was far from as effective until in 2002 he went 16-6, but that turned out to be just a flash in the pan.

Nomo is remembered for his uncharacteristic approach to pitching and not for his ability to get hitters out.

8. Darryl Strawberry

If you are familiar with Moneyball, you know how the story goes. Strawberry and Billy Beane were both poised to be the future of the majors, but only Strawberry panned out.

Strawberry might have been something when he first came up, but as time went on, he never lived out to his full potential, either.

Strawberry was quite the power hitter with the Mets when he made his debut. He hit close to or over 30 home runs during his seven years with the team and stole bases as well. He even joined the 30/30 club in 1987.

After joining the Dodgers, it was all downhill. Not only for his career, but also his personal life. After 1991, Strawberry only played in 100 games once over the next eight seasons.

Darryl Strawberry could have been great. He had potential oozing out of his ears, but because of his poor choices, he is just another overrated bust.

5. Pete Rose

Pete Rose accumulated 4,256 hits in 24 seasons. For that, he is untouchable.

He did one thing well and that was hit the ball. He reached over 200 hits nine times over his career and his career average was .303.

If Rose didn't play for as long as he did, would he have accumulated as many hits as he did? He seemed to continue playing even when he was a mere shell of what he was during his prime.

He never came close to surpassing 200 hits again. Did he continue to play just to increase his hit total?

During his last five seasons in the bigs, where he accounted for over 660 hits, his average dipped well below .300. If we take those hits away, he still finishes well over 3,000, but 3,590 does not sound as impressive.

Don't get me wrong, Pete Rose has set a record that probably will never be touched, but longevity, and possibly stubbornness, had a lot to do with it.

3. Carl Yastrzemski

As the last Triple Crown winner, Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski was one-of-a-kind. He accomplished a feat that will happen once in a lifetime. In his Triple Crown year, "Yaz" hit .326 with 44 HR and 121 RBI. He truly had a dream season.

If you remove his 1967 season that thrust him into immortality, Yastrzemski was really, well, average. He reached 40 HR two more times, but other than those two seasons, his homerun total hovered in the teens.

He hit over .300 three more times, but his average stayed near .270. His RBI total also was never quite as high, as he only eclipsed 100 RBI four more times.

For someone who captured the mythical Triple Crown, you would expect some more consistency.

Yastrzemski was a fan favorite and was able to accomplish something that is as difficult as the Triple Crown in horse racing. It seems as if 1967 is the only season we remember of a rather average 23-year career.

1. Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan was a work horse. He accumulated innings at a rate that would be considered borderline insane by today's measures.

From 1973-1974, Ryan pitched a grand total of 658 innings. Today, if a pitcher reaches that total in three years, he is an innings eater.

Ryan also was a flamethrower. His 5,714 strikeouts in a career is a record that probably will not be broken. He fanned 1,089 hitters across the span of three years from 1972-1974.

For all of the K's that Ryan amassed, his winning percentage was rather low at .526. He also only won more than 20 games twice in his career—21 in '73 and 22 in '74—and in the years he did that, he started in 41 and 42 games, respectively.

You would figure that such a dominant pitcher would have eclipsed the 20-win mark more than twice, especially in a 27-year career.

Ryan mowed down hitters at an electrifying rate. He was the ideal strikeout pitcher and did win over 300 games, but it is not too much to say that this ace was overrated.